Pages

Thursday, 28 March 2013

Where did the Potter games go wrong? - Part 1

www.facebook.com/vuepointuk

So it’s the
Easter Holidays. I’ve finished my Uni stuff. I’ve finished the work I need to
do, and now I’m bored, with nothing else to do but count down the hours until Saturday
night. Then it struck me! “Hey Jack!” said my mind, “Why don’t you get a series
of games that you haven’t touched in a while, and play through them?” This wasn’t
a bad idea, so I pulled out my drawers and dug right to the very back, my
fingers brushing against something dusty. This seems promising. I grasped and
pulled, and withdrew the gem that is “Harry
Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone”. We have a series. We have consoles.
Let’s grab some snacks, some drinks, and lock myself away for the next few days.

Yes, it was
fun. I lost myself in the magical world of Harry Potter, exploring the
different adaptations of Hogwarts, and watching the virtual Daniel Radcliffe
grow up whilst obeying my commands. There is also something else that caught my
attention whilst playing through the 8 games. It’s rare to see the quality of
games deteriorating before your very eyes, but it would seem that despite a few
high points here and there throughout the series, the Harry Potter games went
from great, to decent, to...well, less than that. Over the next few days, I’m
going to be going over these games, and hopefully unmasking what went wrong
with the video-game franchise that started out on such a high. Before I put in
the first game, I was expecting to be bored, as it amused me when I was still
in primary school. Surely nothing can withstand the test of time for this long?

I've never
been more wrong in my life.

In my eyes,
the first Harry Potter game (and I mean the first, the PS1 masterpiece, not the
PS2 do-over), is an absolute gem; an instant classic. Before the curse of the
movie-video game tie-in (cough cough, THOR, cough cough, TRANSFORMERS) Harry
Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was one of my favourite games. Not only
because it followed my favourite book and film franchise of the time, but
because of how well it immersed you in the world of Hogwarts. You could go to
classes, you could cast spells, fight monsters, you could play Quidditch! What’s
not to love? I was living the dream! -and playing through this, from the
opening cutscene to final battle, all the good memories of this game came
rushing back, in a flood of multi-coloured beans and nostalgia.

If you can
look past some dodgy voice-acting and cheesy dialogue (which you should be able
to, it’s an old game), you will find a game overflowing with things to do. It
follows the plot of the first film/book, so there’s nothing new story-wise, but
playing through this is made enjoyable by the additions that have been made.
Certain aspects remain true to the film, but this is only for the key points.
Most of the game has you running around Hogwarts, exploring, finding
collectibles, grabbing as many beans as possible to give to Fred and George in
exchange for a unique upgrade to one of your items, and of course, the
mini-games. Philosopher’s Stone is full of little things, hidden behind
bookshelves. You’ll find everything from puzzles, to arcade-shooter themed
games, all of which hold a reward. This really gives an incentive to explore
Hogwarts to the full, and check every nook and cranny, rather than follow Ron
(who acts as your guide for most of the game).

As you play
through the game you get various spells to help you on your way, taught to you
by the different teachers in different classes. This really helped to bring you
in to the universe, and make you feel like a true Hogwarts student. Charms,
transfiguration, potions, and more, each with their own segments of the game.
Each segment also has its own look. You’ll find yourself in a variety of colourful
locations, from dungeons, to the gardens, and even to Gringotts. There is
plenty of variation in where you go and what you do that will easily keep you
interested.

This is just scratching the surface. There's lots of action, tricky platforming and challenging puzzles to have you playing for a decent amount of time!

So after
facing the Dark Lord and watching the credits roll, I found myself grinning
from ear to ear. I couldn’t help it! I didn’t even realize it until I finished
playing because of how much the game drew me in! I brushed the box down and
carefully laid the disc back to bed, swearing never to allow it to gather dust
again. The roll downhill is made most obvious when you compare this to the
steaming ball of *insert violent word here* that is the Deathly Hallows games –
but we’ll get to those later.